WARWICK PREPARATORY

SCHOOL

Missing Child &

Uncollected Child Policy

Last Review: Autumn Term 2018 Next Review: Autumn Term 2019 Responsible: Headmistress

TABLE OF CONTENTS page

Statement of Ethos at Warwick Prep School 3

1. Introduction and Background 3

2. Pupil going missing whilst at school 5

3. Procedures for a pupil going missing on an outing / residential trip 6

4. Actions to be taken once a pupil is found 7

5. Pupils not collected from school on time 8

6. Procedures for a prolonged unexplained absence of a pupil 9

7. Monitoring and Review 11

8. Appendix A - Flowchart Checklist on ‘Missing Child Whilst At School’

12

9. Appendix B – Flowchart Checklist on ‘Missing Child Whilst On An Outing / Residential Trip’

13

STATEMENT OF ETHOS: WARWICK PREP

We place great emphasis on a broad and inclusive education, in a nurturing and supportive environment, whilst striving for excellence in all that we do. In celebrating each girl and boy for the unique qualities they bring to our community, we encourage them to explore and develop their interests, gain confidence in themselves and in their abilities, and seize the rich opportunities life offers. We seek to prepare all our boys and girls for a life of learning and fulfilment, and for the fast-changing world of the 21st century as responsible, active, and compassionate global citizens. In all that they do, we encourage our children to ‘Aspire, Achieve, Enjoy’, and to be the best that they can be.

Statement of Religious Ethos Founded on Christian principles, we welcome pupils of all faiths and none. King’s High School and Warwick Preparatory School are committed to enhancing the contribution we can make to society as a whole, and, in embracing diversity, to equal opportunities for all.

Aims Scholarship - To foster a love of learning, intellectual curiosity, independence of thought, and effective learning habits. Environment - To provide a safe, stimulating and supportive school environment, where each pupil can feel inspired, challenged and valued. Community - To foster a vibrant school community, built on trust and respect, and instil a sense of social responsibility. Character - To develop resilience and confidence, and to inculcate integrity. Opportunity - To provide a rich and stimulating school experience, where our pupils can explore and develop their interests, gifts and talents, and discover new ones.

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1. Warwick Prep School (“the school”) is part of Warwick Independent Schools

Foundation (“the Foundation”), along with Warwick School and King’s High School (“the Schools”).

1.2. The Foundation and its Schools understand their responsibility for the welfare of all their pupils and the paramount importance of this aspect of their work. The Foundation and its Schools are committed to looking after pupils safely throughout the time that they remain under our care.

1.3. Every adult who works at the Schools will have been subject to appropriate checks

before appointment, will have received Child Protection training soon after commencing and understands their responsibility for helping to keep all pupils safe at all times. During the Child Protection training, Staff are made aware of children who may be at particular risk of missing education.

1.4. Staffing ratios are appropriate to ensure that every pupil is properly supervised

the whole time he or she is in our care.

1.5. This Policy will be publicised and brought to the attention of all parents including those with children in the Early Years’ Foundation Stage.

1.6. This Policy will be kept up to date in line with any legislative changes. The School has reviewed this policy in line with the ‘Children missing education – Statutory guidance for local authorities – September 2016’. The legislation refers to;

• Section 436A of the Education Act 1996

• Education Act 1996

• Education and Inspections Act 2006

• Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006

• Education (Pupil Registration) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2016

1.7. This Policy should be read in conjunction with the Safeguarding & Child

Protection Policy and is linked to the Admissions Policy, Attendance / Registration Policy, Crisis Management Policy, Anti-bullying Policy, Foundation’s Safer Recruitment and Serious Untoward Incident Policy. These are also regularly reviewed to ensure they are robust and effective, and may be made available to parents.

1.8. This Policy outlines the procedures that will be followed at Warwick Preparatory School in the event of a child going missing and the procedure to be followed in the event of a parent failing to collect a pupil at the appointed time.

1.9. Warwick Prep staff will be provided with this policy and be made aware of their responsibilities and the procedures to follow should a pupil go missing or fail to attend school. Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life.

1.10. Key Staff identified in this policy are; Head – Hellen Dodsworth

Designated Safeguarding Lead – Deborah Ward Designated Safeguarding Deputy - Gill Smeeton / Dee Alder / Hellen Dodsworth Foundation Secretary – Simon Jones Foundation Head of Health & Safety – Gail Miller Head of KHS – Richard Nicholson Chair of KHS Committee – Gillian Low

2. PUPIL GOING MISSING WHILST AT SCHOOL

2.1 The aim of this procedure is to ensure that a missing pupil is found and returned to effective supervision as soon as possible.

2.2 On discovering a pupil is missing, the following actions are taken: EYFS

The remaining children will be looked after by staff who are familiar to them.

Staff will calmly, and without alarming the pupils, ask if anyone has seen the ‘missing’ pupil.

Some staff will carry out an immediate search within the Nursery/ Reception area building (including cupboards and small hiding places, toilets and each teaching area)

Staff will check the exits to the building to see if any doors are open, and close them immediately.

Staff will check the immediate outside play areas, car parking areas around the Nursery building / Reception area.

Contact will be made with the School Office immediately who will contact other staff to identify if a pupil is at a individual SEN lesson, is with the school nurse, is with the school counsellor, is off site for another reason (eg: at dentist/doctor/school match), or in the sports hall etc

The Head of Pre-Prep will be notified, as will the School Office, who will notify the Head. The office team will help arrange additional ‘search’ support around the wider site and Myton Road and Banbury Road areas. This may involve caretakers. The School Office will also produce a photograph of the missing child.

After a period of 30 minutes, the Head will notify parents that their child is missing from school (as indicated in section 2.3 below)

Year One Upwards

Children who are safe and well will be looked after by staff who are familiar to them.

Staff will calmly, and without alarming the pupils, ask if anyone has seen the ‘missing’ pupil or knows of their whereabouts.

Some staff will carry out an immediate search within school building (including cupboards , toilets and each teaching area)

Contact will be made with the School Office immediately who will contact other staff to identify if a pupil is at a music lesson, individual SEN lesson, is with the school nurse, is with the school counsellor, is off site for another reason (eg: at dentist/doctor/school match), or in the sports hall etc

Staff will check the exits to the building to see if any are open, and close them immediately

Staff will check the immediate outside play areas, car parking areas and playgrounds.

Having received a report back from the School Office, detailing that the pupil is not in any of the areas listed above, the School Office will notify the Head of Pre-Prep / Head of Prep, followed by the Head. The office team will help arrange additional ‘search’ support around the wider site Myton Road and Banbury Road areas. This may involve caretakers. The School Office will also produce a photograph of the missing child.

After a period of 30 minutes, the Head will notify parents that their child is missing from school (as indicated in section 2.3 below).

2.3 If the pupil is still missing, the following steps would be taken:

Inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Deputy Leads and Foundation Secretary and set in motion the Crisis Management Policy.

Foundation Head of ICT will be asked to check CCTV.

The Head will: – ring the pupil’s parents to explain what has happened and what steps

have been set in motion, and to ask them to come to the School at once; – arrange for staff to search any other areas of the School premises and

grounds that were not searched previously; – inform the Headmaster of KHS – inform the Chair of KHS Committee

The Designated Safeguarding Lead / Deputy Leads will notify: – the Police and – the Local Children Safeguarding Board.

The School will cooperate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority.

The Foundation Secretary will: – inform the insurers; – if the child is injured, instruct the Foundation Health and Safety Manager

to submit a report under RIDDOR to the HSE; – ensure a full record is written of all activities undertaken up to the stage

at which the child was found is made for the incident report; – in liaison with the Head, ensure any changes required to policies and

procedures are made. 2.4 Appendix A - Flowchart Checklist on ‘Missing Child Whilst At School’.

3. PROCEDURES FOR A PUPIL GOING MISSING ON AN OUTING / RESIDENTIAL TRIP

3.1 On discovering a pupil missing, the following actions are taken:

The Group Leader will carry out a head-count in order to ensure that all the other pupils are present.

Staff will calmly, and without alarming the pupils, ask if anyone has seen the ‘missing’ pupil or knows of their whereabouts.

The remaining children will be taken back to an area of immediate safety, supervised by an appropriate number of staff.

An adult will be nominated to search the immediate vicinity (including any toilets/ shop etc). If appropriate, the venue Manager will be contacted and asked to arrange a search.

Most recent ‘steps’ of the party will be re-traced by a member of staff.

The Head or EVC will be contacted and notified that a pupil is missing (one will inform the other).

3.2 If the pupil is still missing after a period of 30 minutes, the following steps would be taken:

The Head will: – Inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead / Deputy Leads and set in

motion the Crisis Management Policy; – ring the pupil’s parents to explain what has happened and what steps

have been set in motion, and to ask them to come to the School at once; – inform the Foundation Secretary; – inform the Chair of KHS Committee

The Designated Safeguarding Lead / Deputy Leads will notify: – the Police and – the Local Children Safeguarding Board.

The School will cooperate fully with any Police investigation and any safeguarding investigation by the local authority.

The Foundation Secretary will: – inform the insurers; – if the child is injured, instruct the Foundation Head of Health & Safety to

submit a report under RIDDOR to the HSE; – ensure a full record is written of all activities undertaken up to the stage

at which the child was found is made for the incident report; – in liaison with the Head, ensure any changes required to policies and

procedures are made.

3.3 See Appendix B – Flowchart Checklist on ‘Missing Child Whilst On An Outing / Residential Trip’

4. ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN ONCE THE PUPIL IS FOUND

4.1 Head / Deputy Head / Head of Pre Prep / Head of Prep / Group Leader talk to, take care of and, if necessary, comfort the pupil.

4.2 A member of SLT or and Educational Trip Group Leader will speak to the other pupils to ensure they understand why they should not leave the premises or separate from a group on an outing.

4.3 The Head will:

speak to the parents to discuss events and give an account of the incident;

ensure, with the Foundation Secretary, that a full investigation is undertaken (involving, if appropriate, Social Services/ Local Children Safeguarding Board).

4.4 Media queries should be referred to the Head who will handle them in conjunction with the Foundation Secretary.

4.5 The investigation should include all concerned providing written statements.

4.6 The report should include the following details:

time,

place,

numbers of staff and children,

when the child was last seen,

what appeared to have happened,

cross-reference the purpose of the activity being done when the pupil went missing,

the length of time that the pupil was missing and how s/he appeared to have gone missing,

lessons for the future.

4.7 Where an event occurs which may by the terms of the Foundation Serious Untoward Incident Policy be regarded as either a ‘serious untoward incident’ or a ‘near miss’, the Governor Serious Untoward Incident Bulletin form will be completed as set out in the SUI policy by the Head.

5. PUPILS NOT COLLECTED FROM SCHOOL ON TIME

5.1 If a child is not collected as expected, the child will be safely looked after according to School procedures listed below:

Under no circumstances will a child be dismissed to an unknown adult or to another adult, without prior consent being given by a parent. Permission to dismiss a pupil to the care of a sibling under sixth form age, must be sought in writing by the parent concerned.

Children in the Nursery who are not collected at the end of their session, or at their expected collection time, remain in the Nursery to await collection (supervised appropriately). If a Nursery child has not been collected by 3.45pm, he/she will join After School Care.

Children in Reception, Year One and Year Two who are not collected by 3.45pm are taken to After School Care where they will be supervised by members of the After School Care team.

If appropriate, a member of staff who is supervising the child will contact the School Office to check that the child’s collection arrangements have not been altered.

Children in Middle and Upper School who are not collected by 4.00pm are taken to After School Care where they will be supervised by members of the After School Care team.

Normally all children leave the site by 5.45pm, and the After School Care supervisor notifies the member of SLT who is on duty that all children are off site. Children in the Nursery who are not collected by 5.45pm are taken to wait in the Open Area for collection. If a child has not been collected by 5.45pm, he/she will wait to be collected in the Open Area along with the member of SLT who is on duty. From 5.45pm, the school will do everything possible to contact the child’s parent or emergency contact, to find out how long a delay there may be before collection.

5.2 If a child is not collected within 30 minutes of the agreed collection time, the School will try to contact the parent/guardian using the contact numbers they have given. If there is no answer, the Head or a SLT duty member of staff will begin to call the emergency numbers for the child.

5.3 According to ISI guidance, there will always be at least two Foundation Employees on site whilst there is still a child on the school premises.

5.4 If there is no response from the parents' or carers' contact numbers or the emergency

numbers within three hours or by the time the premises close (19:00), whichever is sooner, the Senior Member of Staff/Head will contact the Social Care Duty Officer. Social Care will make emergency arrangements for the child and will arrange for a visit to be made to the child’s house and will check with the Police.

5.5 The Senior Member of Staff/Head will ensure a full written report is made of the

incident and will inform the Chair of the King’s High School Committee and the Foundation Secretary.

6. PROCEDURES FOR A PROLONGED UNEXPLAINED ABSENCE OF A PUPIL 6.1 It is essential that prolonged or unexplained absence is investigated fully by the Head

of Prep and Pre Prep to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children. Attendance, absence and exclusions are closely monitored and reported to the Head on a monthly basis. Any staff who have concerns about children being drawn into situations relating to radicalisation or other safeguarding issues should inform Designated Safeguarding Lead immediately. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will inform relevant bodies such as the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board, Child Missing in Education Officer or the Prevent Team. If a child is not in school and there is no known reason as to why, the Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare should contact the parents/guardians listed on the Management Information System to check whether the child is with them. If parents are not contactable the Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare will then call the third party emergency contact number. The Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare will leave a contact message on all numbers called.

Following this the Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare will then email/text the child’s parents/guardians in an attempt to make contact. If contact has not been made by 10:30am the Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare will then update the Head of Pre-Prep and Head of Prep regarding the absence.

If contact has not been made by 11:00am then the Head of Pre-Prep or Prep will inform the Head who will make her decision on actions to be taken based upon relevant pupil background information and circumstances.

The Administration Assistant for Pupil Welfare will follow this routine every day that the child is absent.

At WPS, after 3 days with no contact being received by the parents the following actions will be taken:

The Designated Safeguarding Lead / Deputy Leads and the Head will be informed

The Designated Safeguarding Lead / Deputy Leads will alert the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board / other external agencies and await and act on the advice given. This will be fully documented.

As in line with our WISF Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy 2017, the School will inform the local authority where a pupil fails to attend school regularly, or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 days or more as agreed with the local authority. The School will continue to try and establish the pupil’s whereabouts but where they cannot, the schools will make an immediate referral to Warwickshire County Council’s Access to Education the Children Missing Education (CME) dept. The Children Missing Education Service can be contacted on 01926 736323 or by email to Access to Education officer cme@warwickshire.gov.uk In line with ‘Children Missing Education’ Sept 2016, when the whereabouts of a child is unclear or unknown, it is reasonable to expect that the local authority and the school to complete and record one or more of the following actions:

make contact with the parent, relatives and neighbours using known contact details;

check local databases within the local authority;

follow local information sharing arrangements and where possible make enquiries via other local databases and agencies e.g. those of housing providers, school admissions, health services, police, refuge, Youth Justice Services, children’s social care, and HMRC;

check with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and/or the Border Force;

check with agencies known to be involved with family;

in the case of children of Service Personnel, check with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS); and

home visit(s) made by appropriate team, following local guidance concerning risk assessment and if appropriate make enquiries with neighbour(s) and relatives.

7. MONITORING AND REVIEW

7.1 At Warwick Prep, the Senior Leadership Team will monitor the procedures and effectiveness of this policy and make changes as appropriate. It will be reviewed annually or earlier, if required.

Policy Reviewed: Autumn Term 2018 Date of next Review: Autumn Term 2019

APPENDIX A: Missing Child Whilst At School On discovering a pupil missing, the following actions are taken:

APPENDIX B: Missing Child Whilst On An Outing / Residential Trip On discovering a pupil missing, the following actions are taken: